Play Book Tag discussion

Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews - 3.5* - My Review

In this non-fiction ode to female walkers, Kerri Andrews introduces the reader to ten women writers who were known for their walking adventures. The ten are Elizabeth Carter (1717 – 1806), Dorothy Wordsworth (1771 – 1855), Ellen Weeton (1777 – 1850), Sarah Stoddart Hazlitt (1774 – 1843), Harriet Martineau (1802 – 1876), Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941), Nan Sheppard (1893 – 1981), Anaïs Nin (1903 – 1977), Cheryl Strayed, and Linda Cracknell. One of the author’s main points in writing this book is to point out that women walker-writers have often not received the same level of recognition as their male peers. Each chapter covers an individual in (mostly) chronological order, starting in the 1700s and continuing through present times. Geographically, it covers parts of Great Britain and the United States.

Andrews focuses on an analysis of the writings of each woman. There is little overlap among the chapters, and tying together common threads might have created a richer tapestry. The book is not directed at walking for exercise but is more related to the ways in which being at one with nature can become a way of life and an avenue for introspection. As a fellow walker, I appreciated learning more about the relationship between walking and writing from a female perspective. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on the women who lived before the twentieth century and can only imagine how difficult some of their nature hikes would have been in the types of clothing they had to wear!

3.5

PBT October BWF Extra letter A and tagged "travel" x21:
https://www.goodreads.com/work/shelve...

I added this to my TBR after reading [book:Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London|35259586} earlier this year. Elkin centers her book on authors who walked in certain cities and how it contributed to their works - George Sand in Paris and Virginia Woolf and her sister in London, for example. Wish I had time to read this one right now - I'm curious on how they compare.

I haven't read that one but will check into it.